South China Sea Cold War revealed

The People's Liberation Army Navy ship, reportedly the Type 052C Luyang II-class guided-missile destroyer Lanzhou (170), part of the Chinese navy's South Sea Fleet, took on the US Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Decatur (DDG-73) during a close approach near Gaven Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands.

In the past two weeks, the USA and China have canceled several high-level military-to-military meetings meant to defuse tensions.

The US Navy said in a statement Monday that the two ships came within 45 yards (41 meters) of each other, as the Chinese warship "conducted a series of increasingly aggressive maneuvers accompanied by warnings for the Decatur to depart the area".

WASHINGTON-Vice President Mike Pence will deliver a stinging rebuke to China in a speech scheduled for Thursday in which he will take aim at what he says are Beijing's attempts to influence US elections and global politics. USA officials verified the pictures to CNN.

The Chinese defence ministry said yesterday it opposes the U.S. warship's entry into the waters "around China's islands and reefs".

The proposal, which comes at a time of heightened tensions between the USA and China, has yet to be approved.

Mike Pence, the USA vice president, will sharpen criticism of Chinese foreign policy with a blunt warning on Thursday that Washington will not back away from what it sees as Beijing's intimidatory tactics in the South China Sea. "It is a serious threat to the sovereignty and security of China, will damage seriously the relations between China, the United States and their armed forces, and gravely undermines peace and regional stability", said chinese authorities.

In 2016, an arbitration panel under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, ruling in an appeal filed by the Philippines, did not support China's claims to Gaven Reef, among other shoals and maritime features in the sea.

Mattis this week acknowledged "tension points" between the USA and China, but told reporters he did not "see it getting worse".

His speech is also set to blame China for interfering in USA domestic policies and splitting the country by influencing business leaders to condemn its trade actions. The South China Sea is claimed by China but remains disputed, while the East China Sea has been declared an air defense identification zone by China.

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